Budhia's mother to approach Naveen Patnaik for probe

BHUBANESWAR: Child marathon runner Budhia Singh's mother Sukanti has decided to approach Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to help her recover funds raised in the name of her son.
    
Sukanti, who in December last year lodged a complaint with the police accusing the boy's former trainer Biranchi Das of swindling crores of rupees received from individuals and organisations, claimed she had not recived a pie from the money.
    
"I heard that crores of rupees were collected from different persons and groups by Biranchi Das after Budhia made it into the Limca Book of Records by running 65 km distance from Puri to Bhubaneswar in one go in May, 2006," she said.
    
The illiterate woman, who ekes out a living by working in a private firm for Rs 2,000 a month, alleged that the police did not probe the allegations she made nearly six months ago.
    
She said when she went to the police station inquiring about steps taken to probe the matter, she was told that the investigating officer in the case had been transferred and the accused (Biranchi Das) had died. "Therefore, my case had no merit, I was told."
    
Sukanti, a mother of three daughters besides Buddhia, claimed she had information that Biranchi Das collected Rs five to Rs six crore in Budhia's name, including Rs 27 lakh from a steel company and Rs 19 lakh from a Dubai-based firm.
    
The mother claimed that the money collected was deposited in two separate trusts named after Budhia.
    
While Biranchi Das was secreatry of one of the trusts, senior IAS officer Priyabrata Patnaik was the president. Sukanti was one of the members of the trust.
    
"Since I do not understand English, I signed wherever they asked me to do," Sukanti said.
    
Stating that he was not aware of how much money was in the Budhia Singh Trust, Patnaik recently told reporters that he was told that one or two lakh rupees were collected.
    
Sukanti said she decided to demand a probe into the trust funds after Akshya Behera alias Chagla, a co-accused in the judo coach murder case, in his statement to the police claimed that the Budhia Singh Trust fund was the reason behind the murder.
    
"Chagla has corroborated my allegation. Therefore, I decided to raise the matter again," she said.
    
She said she would also request the newly appointed city police commissioner B K Sharma to punish the police officials who declined to probe the FIR.
    
"Besides Naveen Patnaik, I have hope on Sharma," she said.
    
Sukanti also pointed out that the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Khurda district Chairman R S Mishra had earlier doubted the functioning of the Budhia Singh Trust.
    
Mishra had said that Budhia was running for the benefit of others and not in his own interest.